At that moment, Ye Fan said to her, "Honey, I never thought such a barren little village could produce a beauty like you."

"You flatterer!" Mu Wanxin’s cheeks flushed as she spoke.

Ye Fan burst into laughter.

The two of them arrived at the village entrance. Villagers were sizing up Mu Wanxin; she had been away for so long that many of them no longer recognized her.

"Sister-in-law Yang, it’s me, Mu Wanxin!" she said to one of them.

The somewhat plump woman’s eyes widened in realization. "Wanxin! Where have you been all these years? You’ve been gone for a full eight years!"

Mu Wanxin replied, "I went to another province to study and then worked there. Sister-in-law Yang, how is my mom?"

In her memory, her mother was a woman who was often ill and had even been brutally beaten by her stepfather, so she was desperate to know what had happened to her.

A look of sorrow crossed Sister-in-law Yang’s face. "Wanxin, you probably don’t know yet. Your mom... she was such a pitiful woman!"

"What exactly happened?" Mu Wanxin asked, her voice filled with worry.

Sister-in-law Yang said, "Your mom died five years ago. They said it was from catching a cold, but there are a lot of rumors. I don’t know the whole story. Maybe your stepfather knows!"

"What?"

Mu Wanxin felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The news was devastatingly cruel. Her own mother was dead. She collapsed, sobbing, but thankfully, Ye Fan was there to support her.

Wiping away her tears, she said, "I want to go home!"

Ye Fan held her steady, afraid she might faint at any moment, and led her toward a dilapidated house at the village entrance. It was in such disrepair that it looked on the verge of collapsing.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and a man stumbled out, reeking of alcohol. He was probably in his forties and a complete mess, swaying on his feet.

Mu Wanxin’s expression instantly turned cold.

The man saw her and sneered, "So it’s you, you little bitch! You’ve got the nerve to come back."

He was Mu Wanxin’s stepfather.

"How exactly did my mom die?" Mu Wanxin demanded, her voice ice-cold. "Tell me!" she roared. At that moment, she had lost all reason. Her intuition screamed that her mother’s death was undoubtedly connected to him.

The man replied, "How did she die? From catching a cold, of course. If it weren’t for me, her bones would have been eaten by dogs by now."

As he spoke, he dared not meet her gaze. Ye Fan noticed the fear in his eyes.

Ye Fan immediately stepped forward, grabbed the man by the neck, and threatened, "Come clean, or I’ll kill you!"

The drunkard was no match for Ye Fan, who lifted him off his feet. Though he pounded on Ye Fan’s arms, it was completely useless.

He spat, "You little bitch, so you brought your lover along to deal with me? You think you can handle me like this? You’re wrong."

The still-crying Mu Wanxin said, "Let him go!"

Ye Fan abruptly dropped him to the ground, making him grimace in pain. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Mu Wanxin stared down at him. "If I find out you really killed my mom, I will make you pay with your blood!"

"Hmph! Just you wait! I’ll get someone to kill you both!" the drunkard snarled. He scrambled to his feet and staggered away.

By now, a crowd had gathered near the house. Many were discussing the events from years ago, as they too felt something about the death was strange. Although Mu Wanxin’s mother had been in poor health, it didn’t seem possible for her to have died overnight. Her death remained an unsolved mystery.

Just then, an older man the villagers called Uncle Lin said to Mu Wanxin, "Child, you’d better leave quickly! That guy knows a lot of local thugs. If you don’t go now, you won’t be able to get away once he brings them here!"

"Don’t worry," Ye Fan said. "Let him try."

"Uncle Lin, please tell me, where is my mother buried?" Mu Wanxin asked through her tears.

"On the wasteland, right behind that forest!" Uncle Lin pointed to the woods opposite the village.

Mu Wanxin immediately ran toward the forest. Ye Fan followed closely behind, afraid something might happen to her.

The forest wasn’t very large, only about a hundred-odd acres. Mu Wanxin was crying inconsolably, unable to accept what she had learned.

Ye Fan carefully supported her as they walked through the forest and finally arrived at the wasteland. It was overgrown with weeds, a clear sign it hadn’t been cultivated in years.

In the middle of the wasteland, they saw a low, solitary grave with a dilapidated tombstone bearing her mother’s name.

"Mother, your daughter has failed you!" Mu Wanxin knelt before the grave and completely broke down, sobbing deeply. She was a strong woman, but at that moment, she couldn’t hold it together.

Ye Fan also knelt. Although he had never met her mother, he could feel Mu Wanxin’s grief as if it were his own.

"Even though you’ve lost your mother, you still have me," he said softly. "I will take care of you for the rest of your life!"

Then he addressed the grave. "Auntie, though we’ve never met, I promise I will take good care of your daughter. Please don’t worry about her."

Mu Wanxin cried for a long time. By then, it was already past five in the afternoon.

Ye Fan helped her clear the weeds from the grave. They had almost completely swallowed the solitary mound, and it took them a full half-hour to finish.

An idea suddenly occurred to Ye Fan. He turned to Mu Wanxin and said, "Honey, do you want to know how Auntie really died?"

"Huh?" Mu Wanxin looked at him, puzzled, but she still subconsciously nodded.

Ye Fan turned back to the solitary grave. "Auntie, please forgive this trespass."

He then began to dig up the grave. This was a highly disrespectful act by village standards, but to discover the truth, Ye Fan felt he had no other choice. Mu Wanxin didn’t stop him; she knew he must have his reasons.

Soon, Ye Fan had dug open the grave, revealing a skeleton. Even from just the bones, he could see the clues. He noticed a broken bone in the neck and the unnatural angle of the limbs. As he studied them, images flooded his mind.

A woman lay in bed, gravely ill and weak. Then, a man entered and brutally strangled her with a rope. She struggled fiercely in desperation, but it was all in vain.

Snapping out of the vision, Ye Fan told Mu Wanxin everything he had deduced.

At this, Mu Wanxin completely shattered.

"He... he really murdered my mother!" she stammered, trembling. "I’ll kill him! I will avenge my mother!"

"Honey, don’t be rash," Ye Fan said gently. "I’ll make him confess."

Then Ye Fan reburied the grave. By the time they finished, it was completely dark.

He led Mu Wanxin back toward the village. As they approached her house, they saw a commotion at the doorway.

The drunkard had returned.

He wasn’t alone. With him were six men with dyed hair and tattoos, clearly local thugs.

The drunkard said to them, "That little bitch will be back soon. When she is, kill the guy with her. After that, she’s all yours to play with!"

"Alright, you said it!" the men laughed heartily.

"Of course," the drunkard said viciously. "I’m a man of my word!"